CtW Investment Group, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that works with labor unions on shareholder issues, encouraged Countrywide director Jeffrey Cunningham, who chairs the board's corporate governance and nominating committee, to enlist shareholder advocates in the search for a successor to Cisneros, whose resignation was announced Wednesday.

"We call on [the committee] to immediately open the nominating process to full shareholder participation and involvement," CtW Executive Director William Patterson wrote in the letter. The group proposed its own candidate, Lynn Turner, a former chief accountant at the Securities & Exchange Commission who now serves on several corporate boards.

The group's directive comes as Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide
CFC, -3.01%
faces questions about the business practices and stock sales of its chief executive, Angelo Mozilo. CtW last week called for Mozilo's removal.

"The drumbeat for change at Countrywide is accelerating and becoming more pronounced," Patterson said in a telephone interview. "Our concern around the Cisneros resignation is that there would be a back door maneuver, and Cisneros' replacement would be a director that was part of Mozilo's web of relationships."

"This is an opportunity for the board to send a clear signal that it stands for director independence and shareholder accountability," Patterson added.

CtW approached Turner about the board seat, Patterson said. "His experience at the SEC in accounting and exercising legal regulatory oversight is an enormous boon to a company like Countrywide that's running afoul of compliance," Patterson said.

Turner, in an e-mail message to MarketWatch late Thursday, suggested that he could be an asset to Countrywide as it works through financial issues related to the subprime mortgage downturn. Wall Street analysts expect Countrywide to report a net loss of $1.28 a share in the third quarter on Friday.

"I have worked with many financial institutions, including working with troubled institutions during the last major real estate downturn, as an auditor and as the chief accountant of the SEC," Turner said. "That experience coupled with an investor perspective gained as a trustee of two investment funds, and as a corporate board member I think would bring a valuable perspective to the boardroom."

Cisneros, a U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration, said in his resignation letter that he wanted to dedicate more effort as the chairman of CityView, a company that provides financing for urban homebuilders.

Cunningham is chairman and CEO of NewsMarkets LLC, a Boston-based firm that publishes Directorship magazine and organizes conferences on corporate management, governance, and strategy issues. A call to his office Thursday was not returned. Countrywide also did not respond immediately to a request for a response to the CtW letter. The company said in a statement Wednesday that a search firm has been hired to identify independent director candidates for the board.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.